In recent years, wireless local area networks (LANs) as typified by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 have been widespread. In addition, along with the widespread use of wireless LANs, products supporting the wireless LANs have been increasing. Therefore, frequency of occurrence of so-called hidden node problems has increasing, and establishment of communication becomes likely to be failed.
On the other hand, IEEE 802.11 specifies a mechanism that decides a communication device for establishing communication through exchange of a request-to-send (RTS) frame and a clear-to-send (CTS) frame, and stops frame transmission from another communication device in a period in which a frame is exchanged through the communication (hereinafter, also referred to as a network allocation vector (NAV) period).
In the NAV period, the another communication device whose frame transmission is stopped does not perform communication. Therefore, in view of electric power saving, it is preferable to further stop frame reception of the another communication device.
For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an invention of a communication device that stops supplying electric power or a synchronization signal to a reception circuit in a NAV period in the case where an own device is a third communication device that does not perform communication in the NAV period.